Trending Up, Trending Down: Outfielders Begin To Hit Their Stride
We take a look at who had the best and worst weeks for the Dodgers:
Trending Up
Carl Crawford
After seeing his batting average drop to .185, Carl Crawford had a huge few days to put him on top of our trends this week. He is 10 hits in his last 17 at-bats and even had the go-ahead home run in the 11th inning against the Marlins.
Crawford was finding his way out of the lineup with his struggles, but that home run could have given him his confidence back. His hot bat could buy him a few extra games in the lineup this weekend against the San Francisco Giants.
Though many don’t like Mattingly’s shuffling of lineups, it will be hard to deny Crawford a spot for at least a few days.
Yasiel Puig
Despite crashing into the wall in an attempt to save the game in the ninth inning against the Marlins on Sunday and missing two games, Puig had himself a strong week on the road. A booming, bat-flipping home run in Miami highlighted his week.
Puig hit .423 with a home run and seven RBIs in the past week and has cemented his spot in right field. He has recovered from his slow start and has been one of the most consistent hitters the past few series.
If Puig can keep up this pace, the Dodgers will eliminate one spot from their outfield confusion.
Clayton Kershaw
Well, the left-hander finally made his return from the disabled list and wasted no time in showing why he’s considered the best pitcher in baseball. He came back and threw seven scoreless innings, while striking out nine hitters and earning his second win of the season. The reigning Cy Young wasn’t dominant, as he allowed nine hits, but he will get better.
With Kershaw back and Zack Greinke off to a great start, the Dodgers can now lay claim to one of the best duos at the top of any rotation.
Trending Down
Chris Perez
Before this week, Perez had been one of the more consistent arms out of the bullpen for manager Don Mattingly. The right-hander did not have things go his way though, as he allowed five walks, five hits and four earned runs in three appearances.
Perez was given a bit of a bigger role with the struggling Brian Wilson proving ineffective at the moment and he didn’t respond well. His ERA inflated to 3.60 and will take him a few scoreless innings to get it back down to where it was.
Mattingly can only hope that it was a blip on an otherwise strong season thus far for the former closer.
The normally consistent first baseman may have hit a wall this week. He had just four hits in 27 at-bats and was even given a day off in the process. Although he did hit a home run, Gonzalez failed to give the team any production from the middle of the order.
Nobody expects Gonzalez to keep that up and a return home to Dodger Stadium should put him back on track. The offense needs hit clutch bat to come up key hits to put runs on the board.
Expect the left-handed slugger to return to form this next week and hit at least a couple balls over the fence.
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